Uneasy daily life

Sure enough, it was a bottle of wine that made me more and more sober the more I drank. I thought I could get completely drunk and forget everything, but suddenly that vague sense of intoxication vanished. Looking in the mirror, I saw my real and empty face, which was quite disgusting.

"My grass!"

Seeing Sakurajima Mai running aggressively along the road, Bai Ying asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Ha...hoo...cough cough..."

The midday sun was blazing. Mai Sakurajima, who had run all the way, was panting heavily. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, down her cheeks, and dripped from her chin, settling on the dust. She slowly raised the corners of her mouth, perfectly embodying the term "smiling tiger": "Of course, I'm here to send the hater-kun on his way."

"ridiculous!"

The white figure slowly retreated, sighing, "Brave Plus, you have the internal troubles of your mother sharing power and the external threat of your aunt's invasion. This is precisely the time to lay bare your heart and soul to relieve your worries. At such a critical moment, instead of relieving your internal troubles or eliminating the external threats, you turn your spear against me, an innocent bystander. What kind of logic is this?"

"Because before solving the problem, you have to deal with the onlookers first!"

Sakurajima Mai's mind flashed through a series of scenes. Combining Bai Liang and Bai Ying's actions in the group chat with someone's confession that sounded like a cover-up, she walked over step by step and sneered, "An undercover agent? You really are a good one, Bai Liang and Bai Ying haters!"

The white figure was horrified: "How did you know my online name? You opened the box! That's illegal, you know that?!"

"Hate fan, I know you're quick-witted, so I'm not here to argue with you."

Various interconnected events swirled in his mind—although he didn't know how this guy knew, there was no doubt that his status as the group admin had been exposed long ago! He had pretended to be watching a monkey, observing the other party's attitude, but in reality, he was the monkey being watched!

"On one hand, they praise me behind my back, telling me to be more tolerant, and on the other hand, they criticize me openly, telling me to be more patient..." Mai Sakurajima sighed, "I was too confident to play this kind of information asymmetry game with haters."

Bai Ying coughed and said, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Brave warriors, don't be discouraged. Just start over."

"What you said makes sense."

Mai Sakurajima clenched her fist: "But it's really hard to reason with a hater."

Clearly, Mai Sakurajima has decided to talk about physics.

"Hahahaha-!"

The white figure suddenly burst into laughter.

Mai Sakurajima squinted and said, "What are you laughing at?"

"The former group leader is far too confident. If you were to resolve internal and external troubles, it wouldn't be a big deal, yet you want to overturn the game and challenge me as the mastermind behind it all? It's like stepping on your own foot—you think you can just jump to the sky?"

The white figure took a step back, shielding Yukinoshita Haruno in front of her. She straightened her arms and, with a broad, open stance, solemnly introduced herself: "The person standing before you is the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family, the holder of Frostmourne, the perfect superman, the all-around genius, the veteran masked man, 9528, a master of her family's Aikido, an excellent supporting actress, the hero's older sister, a MAX sister-targeting expert, and the sister's detonator! Don't even mention you alone; even if you bring your whole family, you wouldn't last three rounds against her!"

Mai Sakurajima and Haruno Yukinoshita looked at each other, and she said, "I want to beat this guy up to vent my anger."

"Well..."

Yukino Yukinoshita took a few steps forward with a smile, while the white figure crossed her arms and revealed a confident smile that said, "I have Admiral Yukino Yukinoshita, who can slay Mai Sakurajima."

"Actually, I'm an undercover agent. If Miss Sakurajima doesn't mind, you can kick me a couple more times."

Yukinoshita turned around and stepped aside.

Mai Sakurajima was taken aback, then angrily strode forward.

Bai Ying was stunned, then jumped up and exclaimed, "You actually betrayed us too?!"

Yukino Yukinoshita lazily read aloud, "Yukino is currently contemplating the meaning of life and is temporarily offline and unreachable."

"Tsk! Why are all my subordinates born with a rebellious streak?!"

Ignoring 9528's immediate defection, Bai Ying barked a fierce but weak shout: "Brave Plus, stop! If you come any closer, I'll attack you!"

Mai Sakurajima didn't answer, and rushed over in one stride—talking to a hater is definitely a choice that will only make things difficult for you! I won't swallow this anger until I get my revenge for the anger you caused!

"Hey!" Bai Ying threw her backpack aside, turned and ran, shouting as she ran, "You unfilial daughter! Your mother raised you with great difficulty, and you actually want to sever your mother-daughter relationship with your aunt!"

＃！

"You're the one who wants to sever ties with your mother! Don't give me that nonsense!"

Mai Sakurajima said angrily.

"You definitely want to fire your mom from her job as an agent! Make her lose her job!"

puff!

Sakurajima Mai's expression twisted slightly, and she chased even faster!

Bai Ying shouted as she ran, "Although you like Feng Bin and Hua, you originally wanted to handle this relationship quietly! You're not honest with your sister at all! You even created a group for haters—it seems like it's to fight against your mother's plan, but you know it's not very useful, and you're just comforting yourself! You feel that your mother's behavior is causing you pain and suffering, but you can't bring yourself to say anything because you love her and deeply feel that she has sacrificed too much for you, and you feel like you're paying off a debt! And you have smelly feet!"

Puff puff--!

Sakurajima Mai's face stiffened, and she became even more annoyed, saying, "You're the one with smelly feet!"

So what? You figured out my thoughts? No way! Even if you reveal the color of my underwear today, I'll still teach you a lesson!

Mai Sakurajima showed no sign of backing down.

As expected of a hero plus! If he were a true hero, he would surely have fled in disarray under such a barrage of arrows!

but--

"Hahaha! This is my escape route!"

A white figure rushed out from the roadside, spun twice in the air, and jumped directly into the river.

Pfft!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Love and Being Loved

The hater panicked and chased himself into the river!

Mai Sakurajima slammed on the brakes by the roadside and quickly peered into the stream.

"Come down!"

The white figure floated on the river, paddling its way across the water, and arrogantly extended its finger to beckon.

Sakurajima Mai smirked, gaining a whole new perspective on how outrageous this person was. She asked, her face darkening, "Hate-fan, do you think jumping into the river or getting a beating from me is easier?"

"Just tell me if you dare to come down or not." Bai Ying leisurely paddled into the water. "The river water is so comfortable in summer. It's a pity I'm not inspired. Why don't you brave pluses come down for a swim? Oh, I forgot your clothes are quite thin. Once you're in the water, your clothes will cling to your body, and your curves will be fully exposed, a glimpse of your private parts, which will be censored..."

Sakurajima Mai glared: "You get up here!"

The white figure shouted, "Come down here if you dare!"

"Let me teach you a lesson, and we'll be even!" Sakurajima Mai said angrily. "You've caused me so much trouble, don't you dare admit it?!"

Bai Ying accused, "Ask yourself honestly, didn't you also feel that you were upset and taking this opportunity to vent your anger on me?"

Mai Sakurajima: "No."

Bai Ying sneered, "No need for a written agreement, you're lying."

Talking to this guy was definitely a mistake!

Mai Sakurajima felt deeply that her self-cultivation skills were lacking, but looking at the river below, she was at a loss for what to do—what kind of nonsense is this, "I'll sacrifice myself a thousand times first, but you dare not sacrifice my invincible mud trick?"

"I smell it! It's the scent of inspiration!"

The white figure floating in the river gazed somewhat absently at Mai Sakurajima on the bank. After a moment's thought, he said, "I've got it! Let me compose a poem..."

"shut up!"

Sakurajima Mai, quick-witted, bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and threw it into the river. The white figure immediately held her breath and sank into the water, the dirt creating ripples on the surface.

Before the ripples had subsided, the white figure resurfaced on the river, complaining, "What are you doing? Disrupting my creative flow is a serious matter!"

Sakurajima Mai gritted her teeth and said, "You! You were probably imagining me falling into the water to write some weird stuff, weren't you?!"

Bai Ying: "I didn't."

Mai Sakurajima sneered, "I don't believe you! Swear an oath, on the condition that you'll never have any inspiration to write again!"

"I'm not posting." The white figure floated on the water. "Hey, Brave Plus, you're ignoring the fundamental issue—I'm your hater. As a hater, if you don't cause trouble for the celebrity, are you supposed to cheer them on?"

Hater? In a sense, this guy is really dedicated to causing trouble for himself! Wait, in the eyes of this guy with a few more screws in his head, is he really just doing things to cause trouble for himself? Hmm—I can't understand it at all, I have no idea what kind of interpersonal relationship this is!

At times like these, just go with the flow!

Mai Sakurajima patted the dust off her hands and looked down at the white reflection in the river: "I'm really sorry, I'll retire after this movie is finished."

"Retire?" Bai Ying lay on his back on the river and said strangely, "Those who get pleasure from self-harm are called masochists, but you, who use self-harm to relieve your guilt... could you be a gay masochist?"

Sakurajima Mai was already numb, but she pretended to be relaxed and said, "Without celebrities, you can't be a hater anymore, right?"

Bai Ying declared definitively, "I don't believe it!"

Mai Sakurajima rolled her eyes: "Believe it or not!"

"You're definitely playing the same old trick of announcing your retirement today and your comeback tomorrow," Bai Ying asserted. "Unless you swear that your comeback will be as innocent as a kitten!"

"Who would make such a strange oath? It doesn't do me any good."

Mai Sakurajima smiled and said, "If you're willing to come up here, let me kick you into the river again to vent my anger. Then I'll make this vow without any problem."

"Dream on. As soon as I come up, you'll definitely attack with both hands and feet." Bai Ying thought for a moment and said, "How about we make a bet? I'll say one sentence, and if you get angry, then you lose and swear this oath. If you don't get angry, you don't need to swear, I'll come up and vent your anger for you."

"Fine," Sakurajima Mai said dismissively, "I'd like to see what you can say..."

"You failed to measure the boundaries of loving and being loved, and will not receive love or be able to love for the rest of your life."

Mai Sakurajima was silent for a few seconds, then bent down and grabbed handfuls of soil from the ground, throwing them into the river.

The white figure quickly sank underwater.

Serves you right for being talkative! Serves you right for being so gossipy! Serves you right for daring to curse me! Serves you right for being a hater!

Having vented her anger, Mai Sakurajima, thinking about the mess on set, stood up and said sternly, "Hate-fans! Just you wait!"

I need to go back and clean up this mess... The line between loving and being loved...

Mai Sakurajima came in a huff and left in a huff.

"I'll wait for you to meow like a cat!"

The white figure in the river shouted, and a small splash of water suddenly rose up not far away, splashing some water onto their face.

The white figure looked up and saw Yukinoshita Hiyano squatting on the shore, tossing a few pebbles back and forth in her hand.

Yukinoshita tossed a small pebble into the water: "You rascal, how was it in the river?"

The white figure spread its arms and shouted, "It feels so good! You should come too! Learn from the brave warrior and jump!"

"Then forget it. It's fine for Yukino-chan to jump around in her yukata, but my clothes can't withstand the strain." Yukinoshita Haruno pinched a pebble and aimed. "I'll play whack-a-mole instead. Don't move around and affect my aim..."

The white figure swam to the shore, scooped up a clump of river mud, and held it high: "Your little pebble is no match for this?"

……

……

Back on set, Mai Sakurajima didn't have much of an appetite for lunch, so she called her mother and they went back to their hotel room together.

This overly serious attitude left Sakurajima's mother somewhat puzzled.

"Mai, what is it you want to say?"

Sakurajima's mother had a sudden thought: Could it be that she's in love?! The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed, especially since the screenwriter had just left the production team and her daughter wanted to have a serious talk with her!

"Sit down first."

Mai Sakurajima pulled her mother to sit down on the sofa. She pursed her lips slightly, looked up, and asked, "Mom, I'm asking you very seriously—do you have any complaints about me?"

“Dissatisfied? How could I…” Sakurajima’s mother met her daughter’s gaze, paused slightly, and sighed, “I am indeed a little dissatisfied with your desire to transition into a professional actress. Idols do rely on their youth, but you are young and popular. The transition can be postponed for a few years, and you can slowly move towards becoming a professional actress. What about Mai?”

“I don’t feel any resentment towards the small conflicts and disagreements in life. But one day in my third year of junior high, I started to feel resentful towards my mother, and it’s been like that ever since.” Mai Sakurajima pursed her lips and squeezed the other person’s hand tightly. “Do you remember that time you made me take swimsuit photos?”

Sakurajima's mother was taken aback, her expression somewhat confused.

Mai Sakurajima could feel the irritation and pain in her heart, but she said understandingly, "It's normal that you don't remember. Even mothers and daughters don't have the same deep memories of each other."

"What's wrong with taking swimsuit photos?" Sakurajima's mother frowned. "Did something happen back then?!"

“Nothing happened. It was a perfectly normal shoot from start to finish. It’s not illegal for a 15-year-old girl to do swimsuit photoshoots—that’s what my mother and others think.” Mai Sakurajima took a deep breath and slowly opened up the wound in her heart. “For me, it was the first time I was asked to do that kind of revealing photoshoot. I was suddenly taken to a film set for a shoot. Wearing a swimsuit and exposing my body in front of the camera, everyone seemed to be looking at me. It made me feel ashamed and embarrassed, like I was in an ice cellar… and I still had to smile.”

Sakurajima's mother was completely stunned: "Then why didn't you say so back then?"

“Because it was my mother’s decision, I tried my best to cooperate. And because it was my mother’s decision, I was in pain and dissatisfied.” Mai Sakurajima shook her head gently. “Mom… what you take for granted, what others take for granted, and what everyone thinks is no problem, was like torture to me at that time. I was just a little bit away from choosing to leave the entertainment industry in fear and pain.”